Please note that this is part of my "Gone to the Dogs" series. Unless otherwise noted, ALL entries in this series will be one shots. I wish ffnet had a way to label a series but . . . . it does not. Enjoy!
I do not own "Once Upon a Time."
Matchmakers
Gold walked out of Granny's Diner carrying a bag which contained his lunch, which he held in the same hand as his cane, and held Stewart's leash on the other end. Granny didn't permit animals in her establishment aside from service animals, but she allowed it for Mr. Gold and Stewart because – well, because he owned the lease on the property, and he informed her that is how it would be.
The moment he stepped outside, Stewart started pulling on his leash – something the well-trained dog never did. "Stewart, stop it!" Gold shouted, then he immediately saw the reason behind his dog's bad behavior. Belle French was rounding the corner, her ginormous dog alongside her.
"Hey there, Stewart!" Belle said, smiling at the dog, who wagged his tail and barked excitedly. "Hello Ronan." she then said, looking up at Gold.
"Hello." Gold said dryly, looking around to make sure no one was in earshot. He never told anyone his first name, and still couldn't believe he let this woman in on that tidbit of information. "Stewart, settle down!" Gold shouted, trying to calm the extremely happy dog.
"I'm so glad to run into you – do you think you could stay out here and watch Sophie? It'll just be a moment, I need to go into Granny's and get my lunch and I really prefer not to leave her tied to the fence outside." Belle said.
"Really Miss French, who would take her? What damned fool would try to dognap a two-hundred pound monster like this?" Gold asked.
"Belle." she said. "I told you to call me Belle."
"Right. Belle. I'm sorry, but I do need to get back to my shop." Gold said.
"It won't take but a minute, it's all ready for me, I just need to pay. Please?" Belle begged. Gold sighed.
"Alright, fine. But hurry up about it." Gold said. He walked toward the outside patio and sat down at a table with Stewart, and Belle handed him Sophie's leash once he was seated.
"You stay with Ronan, Sophie. Mommy will be right back." Belle said, and she entered the shop. Sophie laid down at Gold's feet, and Stewart snuggled up next to her. Gold looked down at them and rolled his eyes.
"Your taste in the opposite sex puzzles me, Stewart." Gold commented under his breath. A few minutes later, Belle came out of the diner carrying her own lunch.
"Thank you so much for watching her!" Belle said. "Come on Sophie, let's go!" Belle took Sophie's leash, but she refused to budge. Stewart remained cuddled at her side. "Sophie – we have to go." Sophie glanced at the empty chair across from Gold and let out a loud bark. Stewart lifted his head up and looked at Gold, and he let out a bark as well, albeit a softer one than Sophie, then the two dogs went back to cuddling one another. "I think they want us to have lunch together."
"Oh, this is ridiculous, I do not take orders from dogs." Gold said, and he moved to stand up. Stewart stood up and barked at Gold in a demanding tone. Gold stared at him in disbelief and sat back down just to see what the little dog would do, and the moment Gold was seated again, Stewart quieted himself and sat back down.
"Apparently you do take orders from dogs." Belle teased. "I have a few minutes, why don't we just eat here?" Gold sighed.
"Fine." he replied. They both took their lunches out of their bags, and were surprised to find that they had each ordered the same thing – hamburgers, fries, and an iced tea that was situated in a cup holder in the bag to keep from spilling.
"You drink iced tea? I thought people from your part of the world only drank hot tea." Belle said.
"Well, I drink it at home but – I've gotten used to the iced version, it's not bad. Of course I wouldn't be caught dead with it in Scotland." Gold said, and Belle laughed a bit.
"So Granny had an interesting comment about you when I went inside." Belle said.
"Did she now?" Gold asked.
"Yes – she wanted to know why I would trust YOU, of all people, to watch my dog. She implied that I'd best hurry up and get back out here before you poisoned her." Belle told him, and Gold snickered a bit.
"Well – I have a complicated relationship with her. As I do most people." Gold said.
"Why is that?" Belle asked.
"It just is." Gold replied. They continued to eat their lunches, an awkward silence coming between them.
"You know, I still need to visit your shop." Belle said.
"I hope you're not intending to bring that gigantic beast in with you, she'd be liable to break something. And from what you told me – whatever she might break, you probably couldn't afford to replace." Gold said.
"Sophie wouldn't break anything, but don't worry, I won't bring her into your store." Belle said. She picked up one of her French fries. "Sophie, here, you want one?" Belle asked. Sophie perked her head up, as did Stewart. "Can Stewart have one too?"
"Absolutely not." Gold said. "Stewart is on a very particular diet, Scotties have a tendency to gain weight. Besides, he is not permitted to beg at the table."
"Well, neither is Sophie, but if she's being good, I do offer. One little French fry isn't going to do him any harm, let him be a dog, for heaven's sake, you don't need to be so tightly wound on everything, do you?" Belle asked.
"I am not tightly wound." Gold said.
"Oh please – look at you. You wear a three-piece suit to a DOG PARK. Who does that? Do you even own a pair of jeans?" Belle asked.
"Who are you to question my choices for MY dog, or my personal tastes, Miss French? I didn't realize that we had reached that point in our relationship." Gold said.
"What relationship?" Belle asked. "Since when do we have a relationship?"
"We don't." Gold said. "I mean – I don't even want one. Of any kind. We just – our dogs like each other, I guess we have to deal with that as best we can." Gold stammered nervously.
"Yes – I suppose we do." Belle said. "So – can Stewart have a French fry or not?"
"Fine, give him the bloody French fry." Gold said, not wanting to argue. Belle laughed as she offered each dog a small French fry. "What are you laughing at?" Gold asked.
"You." Belle said. "You act all gruff but you cave rather quickly." Belle gave him a flirtatious smile. "I have to go, I need to take Sophie home and get back to work. I'll see you later, Ronan. Perhaps our dogs will arrange another lunch date for us sometime."
"It wasn't a date." Gold grumbled as Belle stood up, and this time Sophie complied with her and stood up as well.
"Of course it wasn't. We don't even have a relationship, how could we have a date?" Belle asked. "Bye, Stewart." Belle said, and she and Sophie walked away. Stewart jumped onto Gold's lap, looked him straight in the eye, and let out a soft growl, as if he were chiding the man for his behavior.
"Oh, shut up." Gold said, and he turned to watch Belle as she walked away, his eyes not moving until she was out of his sight.